PITTSBURGH -- Pirates catcher Joey Bart didn¡¯t know who ran into him or where the ball was at the moment, but the game was on the line and he needed an assist.
In the eighth inning of Wednesday¡¯s contest against the Cardinals, reliever Caleb Ferguson appeared to have gotten out of the inning by getting Willson Contreras to pop up with two outs just in front of home plate. Bart didn¡¯t hear anyone call for the ball and assumed the play was his, but while he was tracking the ball, first baseman Endy Rodr¨ªguez collided into him and the ball dropped in play as a live ball.
Thomas Saggese was on second at the time and, with two outs, had rounded third and was looking to score the first run of the game. As it would turn out, it was a bang-bang play at the plate.
¡°The only thing I remember is looking at the umpire and seeing him with a fist like an out and thinking, ¡®How was he out?¡¯¡± Bart said.
Bart and Rodr¨ªguez were out of commission, but third baseman Ke¡¯Bryan Hayes was on the spot. He picked up the ball and tagged Saggese to keep the score 0-0, later setting up Bart for a walk-off single in the 13th to win, 2-1.
¡°Ke¡¯Bryan is a crazy smart player,¡± Bart said. ¡°A really, really instinctual player. He has the best internal clock I¡¯ve ever seen by a player on the field. He slows the game down better than anybody. That¡¯s why he is who he is.¡±
Hayes noticed that Saggese hadn¡¯t passed him yet as he was tracking the pop fly, so he knew he had a play and tried to make it.
¡°I just instinctively grabbed the ball and he happened to be right there, so I just tried to tag him,¡± Hayes said. ¡°It¡¯s definitely a play I¡¯ve never had happen to me in my life, but I¡¯m just glad we were able to get the out.¡±
That¡¯s just what Hayes can do in the field, as well as his barehanded grab and throw to get Masyn Winn in the sixth inning. It¡¯s why manager Derek Shelton refers to him as a ¡°game changer¡± on defense.
"I think I've said this over the course of the last five years, he's the best defender in baseball, when he's on the field and when he's healthy,¡± Shelton said.